AIDS in Romania

Of the 1446 AIDS cases reported in Romania, 79% were in the pediatric age group. Of these children, 28% lived with their families, 30% were orphans, and 42% were abandoned. Among the AIDS-affected children, 32% were less than 1 year old and 67% were 1-4 years old. The natural history of AIDS in Romania was characterized by a high death rate from opportunistic infections. Chronic undernutrition imposed by the communist program of "rational feeding of the population," immunodepression induced by the radiation generated by the accident at Chernobyl, hard physical work in an environment intensely polluted by industrial waste, excessive use of injectable therapies and transfusions of HIV-untested blood, lack of education of the medical staff and the population, and tourism have contributed to the AIDS epidemic in Romania. Kaposi's sarcoma was infrequent (7.7%) in AIDS patients. However, a significant number of European-type Kaposi's sarcoma cases with negative tests for the HIV infection were reported.